Prof. E. Claparede on the Structure of the Annelida. 337 



metrical sexual orifices. The orange-coloured matter surround- 

 ing these orifices in Patella, and their position close to the mass 

 of the salivary gland, is somewhat inexplicable, unless it should 

 appear that part of the sahvary gland is an accessory generative 

 gland. 



I have been induced to oflFer this abstract before proceeding 

 to publish a fuller account, with drawings, as there may be a 

 delay of some time in this ; at the same time an opportunity 

 may be obtained of correcting or adding to some of these notes. 



XLIV. — On the Structure of the Annelida, including a cintical 

 Examination of the most recent Works on this class of Worms. 

 By E. Claparede^. 



A SOJOURN of five or six months at Naples, during the winter of 

 1866-67, enabled me to devote myself persistently to the study 

 of the Annelida of its bay. The extraordinary richness of this 

 sea surrounded me with an abundance of materials so great that 

 I could not make use of the whole ; and from the very first day 

 I was convinced how erroneous is the opinion of M.Quatrefagesf 

 that volcanic shores are poor in Annelida. The poverty which 

 has been detected here and there by that naturalist was certainly 

 due to other causes than vulcanicity. 



The Annelida of Naples have been on the whole but little 

 investigated. They have, however, been more studied than is 

 generally supposed. Delle Chiaje, with his indefatigable spirit 

 of investigation, devoted to them many hours of observation. 

 He has accumulated drawings upon drawings, often without 

 taking the trouble to append to them any corresponding text. 

 His publications were made with but little method or continuity. 

 Moreover Delle Chiaje has been but little understood, and often 

 misunderstood J. His works are inexhaustible quarries, from 

 which the roughly squared blocks will only be slowly extracted. 

 How many times have I thought myself in a position to publish 

 entirely new facts, only to convince myself, by the careful exa- 



* From the ' Bibliotheque Universelle, Arcliives des Sciences,' Septem- 

 ber 18(17i pp- 1-44. Communicated by the autlior. Translated by W. S. 

 Dallas, F.L.S. 



This memoir forms part of the introduction to a work on the Annelida 

 of the Bay of Naples, to be published under the auspices of the Societe 

 de Physique et d'llistoire Naturelle de Geneve. This work, which is 

 now in the press, will be accompanied by thirty-one plates in 4to. 



t Histoire Naturelle des Anneles, tome i. p. 153. 



X Delle Chiaje himself complains of having been misunderstood by 

 Carus, Meckel, Wagner, Milne-Edwards, and Grube (Descrizione e Noto- 

 mia, &c., 1841, tome iii. p. 6.9). Now-a-days he might still further enlarge 

 this list. 



Ann. <Sf Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 3. Vol. xx. 33 



